Aestimatio totius fundi difficilis factu est.

The basic structure is:

• Aestimatio = the subject, assessment / valuation
• est = is
• difficilis factu = the predicate, difficult to do / difficult to make

So the sentence is built like:

[Subject] + [is] + [predicate adjective + supine]

In other words:

Aestimatio ... est = The assessment ... is difficilis factu = difficult to make/do

The phrase totius fundi goes with aestimatio and tells us of what the assessment is: of the whole estate/farm.

Because it is the subject of the sentence.

The sentence is saying something about the assessment/valuation, so aestimatio is the thing that is difficult.

• aestimatio = nominative singular
• it comes from the noun aestimatio, aestimationis (feminine)

So:

• Aestimatio ... est = The valuation ... is

That is why it is nominative.

Because it agrees with aestimatio, which is feminine singular.

In Latin, adjectives usually agree with the nouns they describe in:

• gender
• number
• case

Here:

• aestimatio = feminine singular nominative
• difficilis = feminine singular nominative

So difficilis means difficult, and it matches aestimatio.

A neuter form such as difficile would not work here, because the noun it describes is not neuter.

Totius fundi is genitive singular, and it depends on aestimatio.

It means:

• fundi = of the farm / estate / property
• totius = of the whole

So aestimatio totius fundi means:

the assessment of the whole estate

This is a very common use of the genitive in Latin: a noun like assessment, fear, memory, love, and so on can take a genitive to show what it is about.

Because the phrase means of the whole estate, not the whole estate as the subject.

The subject is aestimatio. The estate is not the subject; it is the thing being assessed.

So Latin uses the genitive:

• fundi = of the estate
• totius fundi = of the whole estate

If you said totus fundus, that would mean the whole estate as a nominative phrase, which would not fit this sentence.

Fundus can mean:

• farm
• estate
• piece of landed property
• sometimes more generally property

So totius fundi could be understood as:

• of the whole farm
• of the whole estate
• of the entire property

The exact English word depends on context.

Factu is the supine in -u of facio.

This is an old verbal form in Latin. The -u supine is used especially with adjectives to express the respect in which something is easy, difficult, pleasant, awful, and so on.

So:

• difficilis factu = literally difficult in the doing/making
• more naturally: difficult to do or difficult to make

Here it means that the valuation is difficult to carry out.

Because after certain adjectives Latin often uses the supine in -u rather than the infinitive.

A classic pattern is:

• facilis dictu = easy to say
• difficilis inventu = hard to find
• iucundus auditu = pleasant to hear

So difficilis factu is an idiomatic Latin way of saying difficult to do/make.

English normally uses to do or to make, but Latin often prefers this special construction.

Not exactly in form, though that is often the best translation.

It comes from facio, but factu is not an infinitive. It is a supine, and in this construction it expresses something like:

• in the doing
• as regards doing
• to do

So in idiomatic English, difficilis factu is usually translated as:

• difficult to do
• difficult to make
• hard to carry out

The exact English wording depends on context.

Latin is often happy to use facio in a broad sense where English might use a more specific verb.

Here aestimatio ... difficilis factu est means something like:

• the valuation is difficult to carry out
• the assessment is hard to make

Even though the noun is aestimatio, the action of producing or carrying out that valuation can naturally be expressed with facio.

This is fairly normal Latin style.

Yes, it is part of a very common Latin pattern:

• facilis / difficilis / similar adjective
• • supine in -u

Examples of the same type include:

• facilis factu = easy to do
• difficilis dictu = hard to say
• mirabile visu = wonderful to see

So a learner should recognize difficilis factu as an idiomatic construction rather than trying to translate each word too mechanically.

Yes. English may use either, depending on what sounds natural.

Since aestimatio is something produced or carried out, possible translations are:

• difficult to make
• difficult to do
• hard to carry out

Often make an assessment sounds natural in English, so difficult to make is a good choice.

Totius is the genitive singular of totus, meaning whole or entire.

It is an adjective, but totus belongs to a special group of adjectives sometimes called TOTA adjectives, which have:

• genitive singular in -ius
• dative singular in -i

So here:

• totius fundi = of the whole estate

This form may look unusual if you expect a regular first/second-declension adjective.

Not especially. Latin word order is flexible, and this sentence is quite natural.

A Roman could also have written something like:

• Aestimatio difficilis factu est totius fundi
• Totius fundi aestimatio difficilis factu est

But the given order is clear and elegant:

• first the main noun: Aestimatio
• then the genitive that defines it: totius fundi
• then the predicate: difficilis factu est

Latin often places related words near each other, but it does not depend on fixed English-style word order.

Yes, but the literal translation sounds awkward in English.

Very literal:

The valuation of the whole estate is difficult in the making/doing.

Better English:

• The assessment of the whole estate is difficult to make.
• Valuing the whole estate is difficult.
• It is difficult to assess the whole estate.

The Latin structure is different from normal English, so a more natural translation is usually better.

It can be either, depending on context.

• valuation emphasizes assigning a value or price
• assessment can be broader, meaning evaluation or appraisal

Since fundus often refers to property or land, valuation may fit especially well in a financial or legal context.

So Aestimatio totius fundi could be:

• the valuation of the whole estate
• the assessment of the entire property

A few key points:

1. aestimatio is the subject.
2. totius fundi is a genitive phrase meaning of the whole estate.
3. difficilis agrees with aestimatio.
4. factu is the supine in -u of facio.
5. adjective + supine in -u is a standard Latin way to mean easy/hard to do.

So the big grammar lesson is the construction:

difficilis factu est = is difficult to do/make.